The Mackinac Island Ferries

What’s New!

May 27, 2016

Mackinac Island draws about a million visitors every year, and it’s primarily up to Northern Michigan’s big three – Arnold, Schepler’s, and Star Line ferries – to get those visitors there and back. With summer nigh and the pressure on, we checked in with the local ferry companies to see what’s new for summer 2016.

ARNOLD MACKINAC ISLAND FERRY

Cruise Amenities and Themed Trips Brand new on Arnold Line this year: a cash bar, fully stocked with bottled water, soda pop, beer, wine, and liquor to make every journey even more refreshing.

"We’re trying to make it less about being a water taxi and more like a cruise," explained Heather Tamlyn, Arnold’s sales and marketing director. Arnold is just starting their second year of Sip N’ Sail cruises, which depart from Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, and St. Ignace, and include a variety of different themed cruises, from a craft beer cruise or sunset cruise to their Saturday fireworks cruises and the Great Turtle Voyage that tours around the island for great photo opportunities.

"The chance to tour the Straits and especially to go under the Mackinac Bridge is always popular," Tamlyn said.

Arnold also transports horses over to Mackinac Island for the summer season – between 800 and 1,000 horses each year, and its quite a sight to see as the horses board the ferry 15 at a time. "They’re hitched to one spot on the boat and don’t seem to mind the trip at all," Tamlyn said. For more information: arnoldline.com.

STAR LINE MACKINAC ISLAND

New Catamaran and "Skipper" While it’s name has yet to be decided, Star Line is introducing a new ship to its ferry lineup in the middle of June and will be running the new vessel primarily from their Mackinaw City location.

The jet-powered catamaran will carry 345 passengers on three levels. "It’s a super-comfortable ride, smooth in all kinds of weather," said Lora Brown, Star Line’s director of sales and marketing.

In addition to the new ferry, Star Line guests will have the opportunity to meet "Skipper," Star Line Mackinac Island’s new starfish mascot, a bright yellow cartoon-like character whose primary job is to welcome travelers to the ferries and to Mackinac Island.

Skipper is also the namesake of three new souvenir and nautical-wear stores that Star Line is opening called Skipper’s Landing – two shops in Mackinaw City and one in St. Ignace.

Star Line offers several themed cruises as well, including their sunset cruises, which depart from Mackinaw City on Thursday evenings and from St. Ignace on Monday evenings; their Saturday night fireworks cruises; and Friday night Mackinac Island Music Cruises.

"Our music cruises will feature live performers right on the ferries," Brown said, "and this year will include shows from Patrick Springsteen and classic rock band Aisle 8, among others." For more information: mackinacferry.com.

SHEPLER’S MACKINAC ISLAND FERRY

The Miss Margy and Advanced Car Care The big news at Shepler’s is the addition of a new ferry boat, the Miss Margy, an 85-foot climate-controlled vessel made of stainless steel and aluminum, custom-built for Shepler’s by Moran Iron Works in Onaway. This is the second boat to be named after Margaret Shepler, the co-founder of Shepler’s.

"The Miss Margy was made in Michigan, by Michigan, for Michigan," Shepler’s President Chris Shepler said. "We’re real proud of her. The Iron Works put her together for us, and then we added the windows and painted it. The painting was a four-month process using the same kind of epoxy paint used on aircraft carriers."

Also new at Shepler’s: their new car-care system, a series of six high-definition cameras in a drive-through tent that will keep a visual record of each overnighted car’s condition as it enters and exits the Shepler’s lot.

"Each car will get a barcode, and our cams will take six high-def photos as it comes in, and six again when it leaves," Shepler said. "We’re responsible for the cars parked in our lot overnight, and before, we’d spend 3–4 minutes carefully looking over every inch of each car and taking notes. At 70,000 cars per year, that’s a lot of time spent." If there’s no incident with the car, the photos are deleted after two weeks. The system saves time for Shepler’s employees and ensures that several safety eyes are on the guests’ cars that are parked in Shepler’s lot.

Continuing at Shepler’s this year will be their specialty cruises, including a variety of lighthouse jaunts, Night Sky Cruises with Mary Stewart Adams of the Headlands Dark Sky Park, fireworks cruises, and a special five-hour extended cruise into the Les Cheneaux Islands in northern Lake Huron. For more information: sheplersferry.com.